Cristian Brocchi admits Milan problems are tactical and psychological as they face Frosinone. “The team falls apart.”
It kicks off on Sunday at 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT), click here for a match preview.
“My first thought is to find a team that wants to fight back, the kind I saw in training this week,” said the Coach in his Press conference.
Cristian Brocchi admits Milan problems are tactical and psychological as they face Frosinone. “The team falls apart.”
It kicks off on Sunday at 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT), click here for a match preview.
“My first thought is to find a team that wants to fight back, the kind I saw in training this week,” said the Coach in his Press conference.
“I’d struggle to pick four or five players who disappointed me in that sense. The hope is that tomorrow they can replicate that positive attitude in a match situation, without having the problems.”
The Rossoneri were humiliated by Monday’s 2-1 defeat to relegated Verona, a result that would’ve been far worse without the heroics of 17-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Tomorrow they come face to face with Frosinone, another side in the bottom two in desperate search of points.
“I don’t know why we’ve had these issues, but in moments of difficulty the team falls apart and tries to resolve problems with the quality of an individual.
“The problem is we don’t know how to react. All teams have moments of pressure over the course of a game, but they get out of it by working as a unit.
“Each of our players, instead, wants to resolve the problem on his own and not with his teammates. That is the tactical key that allowed Verona to create so many chances. We have to be united.”
Brocchi’s first move – and one of the reasons he was hired to replace Sinisa Mihajlovic – was changing system to a trequartista. Is he tempted to switch back?
“No. In the system I want to bring forward there is balance. If we find ourselves with two against three, it means someone made a mistake. It’s not down to the system, but an individual error.
“My job is to transmit concepts to the players and I am convinced they have the capacity to read certain situations. If I managed it in my work with the youth team, why shouldn’t I achieve it with them?
“All great Coaches had initial difficulties. Arrigo Sacchi, Pep Guardiola, even Maurizio Sarri needed two and a half months at Napoli to get his team playing this well.
“Having said that, the lack of time mustn’t be a justification for me. I am trying to give something to my team and have been studying football for five years, so I have a fortified idea of the sport.
“I prefer to watch Barcelona and Bayern Munich, or if we want to be more close to home the way Napoli, Sassuolo and Empoli play.
“If we look at results, then Sassuolo sacked Eusebio Di Francesco and recalled him. In my idea of football we can’t just focus on the counter-attack, but must entertain the fans. It’s not arrogance, it is my idea of football.
“Tomorrow, however, the result is too important. In Italy the number one rule is to get the three points. That doesn’t mean my team will be clammed up trying to counter to snatch a result. That has never been our approach.”
Does Brocchi in hindsight regret taking the job of caretaker manager?
“If the chief offers you a top role, how can you say no? All Coaches are criticised, even Max Allegri was this season. I have my ideas and will continue with them whether I am at Milan next season or not.”
Sassuolo are only one point behind Milan and failure to win the Coppa Italia or finish in the top six would rule the Rossoneri out of Europe.
“Yes, that would be a collective failure – so including me. We are always here working, my staff and I only stop for the eight or nine hours per day we get to spend at home.”
Has Brocchi spoken to his great supporter, President Silvio Berlusconi?
“It’s a difficult moment for everyone and we are all disappointed. I am responsible for the players and if they don’t do what I ask, I have to take responsibility for that too.
“The President wants to see a different Milan, a winning side. Despite all the criticism that rains down on him, not even my greatest Milan-supporting friend who’d cut off his arm for the side loves Milan as much as the President.”
Yet the ultras are urging Berlusconi to sell the club to a Chinese conglomerate, taking CEO Adriano Galliani with him.
“The difference in being able to play for Milan and other clubs is the ability to sustain the pressure of San Siro. We cannot think the fans are happy and positive right now, but we have to prove our character to them and start the process at turning this around.”